The Complexities of Wormholes
by Taryn Knight
Summary: Lily can't get James off of her mind and it's driving her crazy. Crazy enough to open a book she stumbled across in the restricted section? A one shot from challange generator. Enjoy!


James had succeeded in driving her crazy-- again. She never really knew how to throw him off of her trail, he was very, _very_ persistent. She told him time and time again that she wasn't interested, but his ears seemed to be block by copious amounts of earwax. Maybe someone had shoved just one too many Bertie Botts up their nose and they were now paying the consequences.

Some time ago come to the conclusion that his brain was so inflated it had crushed his ear drums and now he could only hear the sounds of praise echoing through his feeble little mind.

Lily didn't know what exactly it was about him though that angered her so much. There were so many little things she didn't think she could pick just one. Perhaps it was his relentless bullying of Severus Snape. Maybe it was the messy hair, she wasn't terribly fond 'I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-have-terrible-hygiene' look.

She closed the book she was reading on _Ancient Runes and Magical Hieroglyphs_ with an exasperated sigh and tossed it onto the table she currently occupied in the library. She couldn't concentrate when all she could think about that brainless clod.

She rose to her feet and began to pace the library. Everything about him drove her nuts. He made her nerves stand on end and she felt always felt on edge when he was around. It was almost like she was waiting for him to do or say something that was going to get him, and possibly her, into trouble of some sort.

Of course his friends didn't help either. Sirius Black was often the instigator and Remus Lupin, well, Remus just sat there and watched apparently too scared to stop his own friends from being complete idiots. Lily had always been fond of Remus, he was a pleasant conversation and always seemed to be aware of what was going on around him. But every time she saw him turn away while James and Sirius tortured Severus it slowly chipped away at her respect for him.

She hadn't realized it, but she'd wandered into an older part of the library... the Restricted Section, or so it would appear after a moment of confusion. She let out a low sigh, If Madame Pince found her in here she was going to get into a lot of trouble. It seemed James Potter had a way of getting her into trouble even when he wasn't around.

She was on her way out when a thick book with tattered binding sticking a ways off the shelf caught her attention. She pulled it off, marveling at the light weight of it. The thing visibly looked like it should weight a ton. She wasn't going to question it. She turned it over in her hands so she could read the worn golden letters on the cover: _The Mysteries of Time Travel and the Complexities of Worm Holes._

She bit her lip as she examined the book more closely. Having been found in the Restricted Section, this was obviously some risky stuff and she wasn't prepared to deal with it right now. Curiosity, however, killed the cat, but Lily was no cat-- right? A little peek wouldn't hurt?

She made up her mind and in on a split second decision she opened the book. Almost instantly, everything went black and silence engulfed her. The book must've had a spell on it, that was the only explanation. One that prevented anyone who happened to get it without permission from reading it? Any minute now Madam Pince would be screaming at her for coming into this part of the library, giving her detention for weeks on end and banishing her from ever stepping foot into the large archival room forever.

Instead, the second ticked by. At last, a voice called from the darkness. "Who's there?" It was an older woman's voice, one that sound strangely familiar. "Is someone there? Please, speak to me."

"I- I'm here," Lily heard herself saying. "Who are you?"

"That does not matter, do you have a wand?" the voice asked.

"Yes, I do," Lily replied.

"Give us some light please," she said.

Lily hesitated a moment then pulled her wand from her robes. "_Lumos,_" Lily called the wand sending a ring of light in a ten foot radius around the room. It appeared to be made of stone with no doors or windows in sight. There was no person readily apparent either. She took a few more steps forward, her shoes crunching against miniature bones and other gruesome things. She stopped when the beam of light fell upon a booted foot.

"Not too close ... my eyes ... have seen nothing but darkness for days now," the woman said softly. Lily pulled the wand back a bit. "Do you think you can do an Illusionment charm on the walls? There is a door hidden somewhere, I can't seem find it."

"It will get dark again," Lily replied.

"That's all right..." the woman said.

Lily muttered the charm for the Illusionment spell as she tapped the wand lightly against the wall. There was a grating sound then silence.

"_Lumos,_" Lily said again. She ran the light along the length of the wall and finally it fell upon the door. "Here it is."

Behind her she heard the rustle of chains as someone rose. "The chains, get rid of them." She said. Lily paused again.

"H-how do I know you're not chained in here because you've murdered someone... or something?" Lily asked. The last thing she wanted to do was unleash some mass murder on the public.

"Evansco!" she said aiming in the direction of the chains. They rattling stopped as the chains disappeared.

"What did you say your name was," the woman asked.

"I didn't," Lily replied. "But it's Lily, Lily Evans."

Silence then a long hiss of air. "What?" the woman asked.

"Lily Evans..." Lily replied.

"Bring your want closer," the woman said.

"But your eyes--"

"Just do it," she ordered.

Lily took a few slow steps forward until the woman was standing within the glow of the wand. Lily was so surprised she nearly dropped the wand. She was staring at an image of her, a mirror image of her only aged several years.

"My name is Lily Potter," the woman replied. "I think we've heard of each other before, Miss Evans."

"I can't believe this... the book... it... brought me here," Lily gasped.

"I was waiting for you to come..." she said with a faint smile. "I wasn't sure at first, you didn't seem to recognize even your own voice."

"I can't believe this... wait... did you say Potter?" Lily Evans gasped.

Lily Potter smiled. "Indeed... you still have a few years but... eventually you will give in and promise him one date. After that it's all history." she said with a grin.

"I can't believe this, I won't do it, I won't date him," Lily said matter of fact.

"He's not that bad of a guy, really," Lily Potter said with a grin. "Give him that one chance and you'll see." She lifted her arms, the chains clinked together and the younger Lily jumped.

"Right! The chains, _evansco_!" she said aiming in the direction of the chains. The rattling stopped as the chains disappeared.

"What now?" Lily Evans said.

"Well, I've got to get back to my husband, he probably thinks Voldemort's killed me already," the words slipped out bitterly.

"Who is...?" Lily Evans asked.

"You'll find that out soon enough as well, though you probably won't remember much of this when you're finished here," Lily Potter said. "Come on. I need to get a taste of this fight or life just won't be the same anymore."

Lily Evans stared blankly at... well, herself for a moment then shrugged. You only lived once right? Or... did this make it twice?


End file.
